Article

Our primary objective was to test the hypothesis that people with
stroke can learn to use powered wheelchairs safely and effectively. Our secondary
objective was to explore the influence of visuospatial neglect on the ability to
learn powered wheelchair skills. DESIGN: Prospective, uncontrolled pilot study
using within-participant comparisons. SETTING: Rehabilitation center.
PARTICIPANTS: Inpatients
(N=10; 6 with visuospatial neglect), all with a primary
diagnosis of stroke. INTERVENTIONS: Participants received 5 wheelchair skills
training sessions of up to 30 minutes each using the Wheelchair Skills Training
Program (version 3.2). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Powered wheelchair skills were
tested before and after training using the Wheelchair Skills Test, Power Mobility
version 3.2 (WST-P). RESULTS: The group's total mean WST-P scores improved from
25.5% of skills passed at baseline to 71.5% posttraining (P=.002). The
participants with neglect improved their WST-P scores to the same extent as the
participants without neglect, although their pretraining and posttraining scores
were lower. The training and testing sessions were well tolerated by the
participants, and there were no serious adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: Many people
with stroke, with or without visuospatial neglect,
can learn to use powered
wheelchairs safely and effectively with appropriate training.
CI - Copyright 2010 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS